[rageotones]

part 11

so i'm shortstacked and on a mission for a +6k first prize (186 buy-ins i believe).

i play push-bot poker for a little while. i end up getting to complete in the SB with KT and flop top pair. we all check to the button who bets out, and i push. he folds, and i have a few more chips. the blinds have gone up to 100/200/25 at this point, so each pot is important from here on out. a little bit later, i open push with A5. one guy thinks for a little while and finally folds. he had a bigger A...go me.

i build up my stack to around 3k, and get faced with 2 tough decisions.

another short stack open pushes for over 2k, and i look down at AJo. man, i really want to play this, but my gut tells me otherwise. that's all i really have to go on, so i reluctantly fold. i never find out what he had. i guess it's time to turn to liquid courage.

"grey goose and tonic please."

3 drinks later, same guy pushes, and i look down at 55. damnit. 2 hands that i'd open-push no questions asked, but calling all-ins? i fold again. nothing else significant happens until i move tables again.

at my new table, i play 3 or 4 hands including an open-push with AK which gets no callers. i move tables again.

i don't remember a lot here, but i managed to steal a pot here or there, and build my stack up to about 8kish. blinds have gotten up to 600/1200/100 i think before the first big suckout happens.

i open for around 3k with A8o, and the guy behind me pushes. it folds back to me, and i start to wonder what the hell was i thinking. i pretty much pot comitted myself, and didn't take the chance to fold out any better hands. i'm thinking about folding, but then look at what i'd have left. damnit, i call knowing i'm in bad shape. guy turns over JJ to my A8, and viola, magical 8 on the flop. he doesn't improve, and i'm patting myself on the back for the genius play.

next important hand happens when i have 55. a guy raises to 3kish in front, and i call. flop comes Q-high with a 5, and he bets out 3k. i think there were two of one suit, and i raise to 10k. he thinks for a while and folds. he says he had 99, lucky me.

a few hands later, a guy opens, and i re-raise with 77. he folds, and i get some more chips. the blinds and antes are really helping out my stack.

later, i open for a raise w/33, and this really tight lady pushes. i think for a while, and decide to fold. i think i had her covered, but i'd be microstacked if i lost the pot. i felt she was pretty strong too from her demeaner. later, during a break, she told me she had KK. another great play by yours truly.

i get frisky, and steal 2 hands in a row from MP-EP with mediocre hands. the table had kind of tightened up a little. so the 3rd hand, i raise again with TT. same lady who had KK earlier pushes, but she has significantly less chips now, and i call. she turns over AQs, but my hand holds up, and she's gone. the next hand, or 2 later, a guy open-pushes when i'm in the BB, and i look down at JJ. i call, and he flips over A9o. my hand holds up again, and all of a sudden, i'm in a really good spot with over 60k. i get moved again, and we're down to 3 tables of 9(18 places pay).

blinds are up to 1k/2k/200 now, but i'm in a good place to easily make the money if i don't do something dumb....little chance of that happening.

at the new table, i see our old friend bd1 with a huge chip stack....

oh yeah, a little back story on bd1 that i forgot to say.
at the last hand at my first table, he gets into a big pot. on a flop of JT8, a guy raises, bd1 pushes all in for not much more, another guy goes all-in, and first guy calls.
bd1 turns over QJ
another guy turns over JT
last guy turns over J8
the miracle 9 hits on the turn, and nothing important happens on the river, and bd1 tripples up.

anyway, he has been doing good things with the chips, b/c he's sitting with around 120k or so.

i tighten up a little, and nothing important happens until the downward spiral. i'm in the 8 seat, and there are shorties in both the 9 and 1 seat. it all starts when i'm in the sb, and jackass(JA) open-pushes from UTG. it folds to me, and it is about 5k total. bb only has a little under 6k, so i raise, and bb folds.
i turn over AJo, and UTG turns over...
69soooooooted
here we go.
he spikes a 6 on the flop and another on the river to rub it in a little. i'm fairly unhappy about the open push w/69, but whatever...it's his buy-in.

next hand, it folds around to me OTB, and i open to 5375 with QTs. JA is in the bb, and decides to push. i think for a minute...it's 8k more to me, and i decide to make the call. he turns over....

74o WTF?
vs. QTs

now...we obviously know that he wins the hand, and i'm steaming pretty hardcore. i'm bitching and moaning. i think the only thing i said to the guy was, "you know, you can fold that there, you just doubled up." anyway, i'm feeling sorry for myself, and i'm down to a little over 20k. back to shortstack mode while we have about 21 people left. after busting 2 out of the money on thursday night, i'm really unhappy about the situation. we've played for about 4.5 hours at this point.

i shortstack it for a little while while we're trying to get to the 18 that make the money. i don't remember anything significant until this happens.

the guy to my right has the bb, and he says something about..."sniff sniff i think i can smell a walk coming..." anyway, he carries on, and he ends up getting a free pot. i kind of laugh, and i get the bb the next hand. i'm of course like, sniff sniff i can smell something too. i think there's another walk coming. it folds around to the sb, and i start lobbying. "you know, you just got a free one, nothing wrong with giving me one....you know i have enough chips to put a dent in that stack of yours...i haven't looked yet, so i could have something good." he looks a couple of times, and thinks about it. he finally laughs and's like, "ok, you can have it."

i flip over AA

damnit, why did you lobby so hard? it was a funny moment, but i wish i would have just mucked. why did i have to know what i had?

so we finally dwindle down to 19 players, and there's one guy with less than 1 bb at a different table. but, on our table, it folds around to bd1 in the sb, and he raises. the bb, on a short stack, looks down and starts to think. he decides that he wants to take his chances, an admirable decision IMO, and calls for his tournament life with A3. bd1 turns over A slowly

then he turns over....

2

A3 vs. A2

the flop brings an ugly 2, and everyone kind of gasps at the same time. A3 doesn't improve, and the guy busts out on the bubble in true suckout fashion.

now we're down to 2 tables of 9, and we're all in the money. great...now we have some work to do to make the real money